Red Wolves in full pads for 12th spring practice

JONESBORO, Ark. (ASU) - The Arkansas State football team held its second practice this week and 12th this spring Wednesday at Liberty Bank Stadium as its spring camp nears completion.

The Red Wolves have two practices remaining this week, including its Spring Game set for 1 p.m. Saturday. The Red Wolves will practice Friday afternoon as well, and the coaching staff has invited all former A-State lettermen to attend the workout. The team's final practice is scheduled for Monday, April 15.

Five weeks into their spring camp, the Red Wolves were suited out in full pads today and head coach Bryan Harsin said the team both began and completed the practice in strong fashion.

"We started off well, and I told the guys after practice we need to continue to finish like we started," said Harsin. "We've been in our spring camp for a while now, but the reality is we do a lot of prep with practices, workouts and meetings for 12 or 13 opportunities a year to go play in a game. ?I thought our players did finish well with the energy and excitement they brought, but now we need to finish our spring camp strong. I think that's a point we've tried to make, and we want to carry that over into Friday because it will be the last opportunity we have to practice what we're doing before the spring game."

The practice included some full-contact periods with the No. 1 offense facing the No. 2 defense and vice versa, and the players were competitive in the final "live" sessions before Saturday's spring game.

"The No. 1 offense moved the ball and made some plays, and the No. 1 defense was aggressive and played the run effectively in those situations," said Harsin. "Both sides of the ball were able to get some things corrected in those periods, so we accomplished what we wanted from that standpoint."

The Red Wolves began this week with a Monday practice that was their first since holding their second spring scrimmage, and the team used much of the workout to improve in areas that stood out in the scrimmage.

"Part of our focus was reviewing some things from the scrimmage, and we wanted to correct the mental mistakes that come up during games," Harsin said following Monday's workout. "We utilized a portion of practice to put those things to rest and make sure they are right. We had a little fun with some competition, letting the kickers get out there and compete in front of the team kicking some field goals. We also did some one-on-one competitions with our quarterbacks, wide receivers, safeties and defensive backs. I thought some guys came out and really did a nice job to get better, but we need to be more consistent as a team."